University bid for 500 Tay cities deal jobs

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The University of St Andrews is set to create 500 new jobs at its Eden Campus at Guardbridge as part of the Tay Cities Deal.

Earlier this month an ambitious £1.84 billion package was announced for more than 50 projects across Tayside and North East Fife as part of the Cities Deal.

The University’s contribution to the Tay Cities Deal package is a £24 million bid which, if successful, will further redevelop the site of the former paper mill at Guardbridge.

The bid has the backing of North East Fife MSP Willie Rennie, North East Fife MP Stephen Gethins and Tay Bridgehead Councillors Tim Brett and Bill Connor who represent Guardbridge.

The University has already invested £25 million in an award-winning green energy centre at the Eden Campus which pumps hot water four miles to St Andrews to heat University buildings. More than 350 University staff are to relocate from St Andrews to the Eden Campus in 2018.

The Cities Deal investment would see the redevelopment of an additional 5500 square metres of existing derelict buildings.

It is predicted that the funding could unlock up to £75m of other inward investment within the first five years from a mixture of industry and private sector investors.

Specific projects earmarked for the bid are:

• an Advance Materials Centre incorporating circular bio-economy, biorefinery, and carbon reduction;
• The Sandpit – a zero carbon integrated energy community to support industry and academia to create new ideas for innovation in a “sandpit” environment;
• Eden Enterprise Centre – to provide capacity and support for innovators, start-ups and SMEs;
• location for a “living lab” environment to maximise knowledge transfer and learning to the community.

University of St Andrews Quaestor and Factor Derek Watson said: “With Tay Cities Deal help, we can continue to redevelop buildings and provide the necessary infrastructure to co-locate exciting new industry alongside academic expertise from across Scotland.

“Our plans for Eden Campus are ambitious but with help from our partners in the Tay Cities region and government support we believe we can make a genuine contribution to the government’s strategic objectives and society as a whole.”

North East Fife MP Willie Rennie said: “I am delighted that the University is putting forward ambitious proposals to further develop their Eden Campus. This is a strong bid which would build on the existing investment. The University’s redevelopment of Guardbridge has my full support.”

North East Fife MP Stephen Gethins said: “This is a very welcome investment by the University which will create 500 new jobs and transform another area of the Guardbridge site creating the potential for further investment in the area. I am delighted that the University has taken this step; its continued commitment to the Eden Campus project is great news for the local economy and surrounding communities. The University of St Andrews is leading the way in green energy and it is fantastic to see the Guardbridge site developed in this way.”

Councillor Tim Brett said: “I sincerely hope the University of St Andrews is successful with this funding bid. There is so much potential for job creation and training opportunities at Eden Campus that will benefit not only the village of Guardbridge but the whole region.”

Councillor Bill Connor said: “I wish the University success in this bid to the Tay Cities Deal. The redevelopment on the Eden Campus in Guardbridge is already bringing benefit to the village and has the potential to create 500 jobs, which can only be a success for the whole area.”

Photo captions
Top and news page: Artist’s impression of Eden Campus incorporating Tay Cities Deal development proposals
Thumbnail and middle: Artist’s impression of the new Eden Campus

For more information, contact Geoff Morris, Director of Special Projects & Community Engagement, on 01334 467323.

Issued by the University of St Andrews Communications Office, contactable on 01334 467310/2530 or [email protected].